Mystic Aquarium’s Aqua Camp Kids using CritterCam technology

(Mystic, Conn., July 15, 2014) – Mystic Aquarium’s Aqua Camp kids travel to Old Lyme to track snapping turtles today. They will join the Aquarium’s research team who partner with the Tributary Mill Conservancy and National Geographic to study the behavioral patterns of snapping turtles in the wild. The kids, age13 to 14 are participating in a week long summer camp that immerses them in marine biology. This week the children will do work in the field, tracking with CritterCam. Using revolutionary technology, research teams will painlessly attach a small camera to a snapping turtle and release the turtle back into its environment. The kids will learn about the turtle locomotion behavior in environments without human presence. They will also discover why Mystic Aquarium’s researchers are collecting the turtle’s blood samples and nail clippings to use to monitor the health of the turtles and the ecosystem as a whole.

The camp includes a sleep-over among the fish at the Aquarium and the kids will be building their own hydrophone to deploy into the exhibits at Mystic Aquarium where they will be able to eavesdrop on animals various forms of communication. They will then take these hydrophones into the field where their focus will be on finding out about noise pollution.

About Mystic Aquarium

Mystic Aquarium is a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, and is counted among the nation’s leading aquariums with more than 300 species and an extensive collection of marine mammals, including New England’s only beluga whales. Mystic Aquarium has been a pioneer in offering guests a variety of up close encounters with a wide range of marine animals. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration. Sea Research receives major support from United Technologies Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company and Foxwoods Resort Casino. Learn more at mysticaquarium.org or searesearch.org.